


The Final Problem - The Missing Scene

by The_Queen_Of_OTPs



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternative ending to S04Ep03, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sherlock rescues John, The Final Problem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:29:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21982954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Queen_Of_OTPs/pseuds/The_Queen_Of_OTPs
Summary: Long buried secrets finally catch up with the Baker Street duo and Mycroft Holmes. Someone has been playing a very long game and Sherlock and John Watson face their greatest ever challenge. Is the game finally over? And can Sherlock save John before it's too late?
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	The Final Problem - The Missing Scene

Sherlock woke up in a cell, laying flat on a wooden table. All he can hear is the little girl’s voice on the phone, the one that is stuck on a slowly descending aeroplane. He had just asked her to go to the front where the drivers were. “Are you there yet?” He asked her, waiting anxiously for her reply.

The voice that replied wasn’t the one he expected. “Yeah I’m here.” John replied as he moved, the sound of a splash beside him.

“John?”

“Yeah!”

“Where are you?” Sherlock asked.

“I don't know. I’ve just woken up. Where are you?”

“I’m in another cell. I just spoke to the girl on the plane again. We’ve been out for hours.” He remembered the moment he had been in the room with Mycroft and John and his sister Eurus on the screen behind them commanding Sherlock either kill Mycroft or John, because only two of them could go through. Sherlock wasn't going to lose anyone of them, so he had put the gun to his chin, ready to surrender himself but was stopped when they got shot with tranquillisers and moved to different locations.

“What, she's still up there?” John exclaimed, partly surprised.

“Yes. The plane will keep flying until it runs out of fuel.” Sherlock explained, hoping John understood every word he was saying. For a moment, he remembered Mycroft. “Is Mycroft with you?” He asked.

“I have no idea. I can hardly see anything.” He paused for a moment. “Mycroft?” He called. “Mycroft” he called once again when no one answered him.

Sherlock pinched his nose for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah” John replied simply. Sherlock sighed internally, this was not the time for simple answers, Watson!

“Alright. Well just keep exploring. Tell me anything you can about where you are.”

“The walls are rough. They’re rock, I guess.”

“What are you standing on?” Sherlock said as he began pacing the room.

“Uh, stone, I think. But listen there’s about two feet of water.” He said as he felt around. He realised he was chained to the ground. “Chains” he sighed defeated. “Yeah, my feet are chained up.I can feel something.” Sherlock heard John grunt. “Bones, Sherlock. There are bones in here.”

“What kind of bones?”

“Uh, I don't know, small.”

While John was quiet, Sherlock was on the ground, and picked up something that had been under the table. It was a brownish coloured bowl with ‘RedBeard’ written on it. “Red-Beard.”

“Whose Red-Beard?” The little girls voice came back all of a sudden.

Sherlock began talking to her once again. “Does the river look like it’s getting closer?” Sherlock asked.

“A little bit.” The girl replied.

“Good that means your closer to getting home.” Sherlock replied.

“Sherlock?” John said then. “I'm in a well. That’s where I am. I’m in the bottom of a well.” 

“Why would there be a well in Sherrinford?” Sherlock wondered. It wasn't possible. Then he noticed a draft, that’s not supposed to be there either. Walls don't contract after you’ve painted them. Not real walls at least. Sherlock pushed on the wall, and it suddenly crashed to the ground revealing his home, his childhood home in front of him.

He stalked inside the house, demanding Eurus allowed him to speak to the little girl on the plane again. “Eurus, let me speak to her and I’ll play any game you like.” Sherlock commanded as an image of his sister appeared on the screen.

“First, find Red-Beard. I’m letting the water in now. You don't want me to drown another one of your pets, do you? At last it’s time to solve the Musgrave Ritual. Your very first case and now the final problem.” Eurus sighed mockingly at Sherlock. “Bye-bye now.” She said as Sherlock turned towards the stairs.

“Sherlock!” John called. “Sherlock!!”

As Eurus sang that awful song that reminded him of his strange childhood, he opened a door. “John...” He said as he saw John on a monitor screen. The image was of the well, filling up quickly with water, John battling the water coming down from above. “Can you hear me? John!” He yelled desperately at the screen.

“Sherlock.” John said.

“John?”

“Yeah, it’s flooding.”Eurus kept singing. “The well is flooding” John said as a little bit of panic settled into his voice.

“Try as long as possible not to drown.”

“What?”

“I’m going to find you. I am finding you.” Sherlock said, now in a panic of his own.

“Well, hurry up, please, because I don't have long.” John replied desperately.

The young girl now panicking because any moment that plane could fall out of the sky and while John attempted to escape he just fell backwards into the water causing an almighty splash but Sherlock in haste of trying to rescue everyone, he began to review the information. “Eurus, you said the answer is in the song, but I went through the song, line by line, all those years ago, and I found nothing.” Sherlock ran through images of himself as a child running through the wheat field. “I couldn't find anything.” He stuttered over his words as he thought. “There... there was a beech tree in the grounds and I dug, I dug, and dug, and dug and dug.” He inhaled sharply, “Sixteen feet by six, 16 yards, 16 metres and I found absolutely nothing.” He said throwing his hands down in front of him. “No one!”

“Sherlock?” John said at that moment.

“Oh, it was a clever little puzzle. Wasn't it? So why couldn't you work it out, Sherlock?” Eurus voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Sherlock!” John said again.

With his face in his hands he heard John continue. “There’s something you need to know.”

“Emotional context” Eurus added. “And here it comes.”

“Sherlock? The bones I found...”

Sherlock interrupted him. “Yes. They’re dogs bones, that’s Red-Beard.”

“Mycroft’s been lying to you, to both of us. They’re not dog’s bones.”

“Remember Daddy’s allergy? What was he allergic to?” Eurus added in that moment. “Remember, no matter how many times you begged, he would never let you. We never had a dog.” Eurus reminded him.

Meanwhile John was waist deep in the well, with a skull in his hands, looking down at it and Sherlock had worked it out. Red-Beard was his friend. “Victor...” He realised softly.

“Now it’s coming.”

He had worked it out. He sobbed quietly. “What did you do?”

All those memories of him and his best friend flashed before hie eyes. “You killed him, you killed my best friend!”

Eurus told him he had no one. “Alright, let’s play.”

He ran out of the house out to the gravestones outside. Wrong dates. The key to the cipher was the dates. It was a puzzle. It would help everything, save the plane and John. At least that was the plan.

“Is this strictly relevant?” John shouted desperately, the water quickly rising.

“Yes it is. I will be with you in a minute.”

Sherlock rushed back inside. He worked it out. Eurus was the one that was in the plane to begin with. “I'm here Eurus. Your not lost anymore. I am here.” Sherlock reached forward and hugged his sister. “You just went down the wrong path last time. Now please, tell me how to save my friend. Help me save John Watson.”

All of a sudden John heard a thud at the top of the well and voices.“Sherlock. No. It’s too dangerous. Please wait until the professional’s get here.” John could hear Lestrade’s voice shouting at Sherlock.

“I don't care. I am going to save John and no one is going to stop me!”Sherlock shouted back.

Sherlock threw the rope over the side, and began his steep journey down. As frightening as this was, and how much he despised Lestrade for being right, he had to save John.

John heard the rope hit the water and he opened his eyes to look over as it landed beside him. Reaching out weakly to grasp it, he saw Sherlock climbing down the well. “Sherlock...” John whimpered softly once the detective had reached the bottom.

“It’s alright John.” Sherlock said even softer, easing closer to the smaller man.

Sherlock took a moment to access what was going on. From what he could see John had been struggling to keep his head above the water for several minutes now. John was exhausted, slight hypothermia starting to set in. It was going to be at least another ten minutes before the police got down to unchain John and get both of them to safety. To Sherlock that seemed like fatal time for a fatigued man that was barely able to breathe.

Sherlock being taller than John, he grabbed on to John. He held him, and took John’s weight, holding him above the water. “It’s okay John. You can rest now.” Sherlock said as he held John against him.

John fell into Sherlock, his arm laying weakly over Sherlock’s shoulder and his head resting just on his shoulder. “John! Hey. Stay with me okay.” He said to the man in his arms, who had begun shivering against him. Now it was up to Sherlock to get him to stay awake. “John. Wake up.”

At that moment it was just the two of them, nothing else or anyone else mattered. All Sherlock cared about was saving John. He couldn't lose John, not again.

“Sherlock!” Lestrade called from the top of the well.

“I’ve got John. He isn't going to last much longer. Get me assistance now!” Sherlock shouted.

Lestrade disappeared from view and Sherlock wrapped his arm around John’s back. “I’ve got you John.” He said rubbing the mans back softly. “Lestrade and the guys are coming to help us. Just hold on. Everything will be okay.”

They sat in silence for what felt like minutes. “Sher...lock.” John shivered. “I can't...”

“You can’t want?” Sherlock said quietly.

“Hold on...”

“You can. You can do this. Your the strongest man I’ve ever known. You can get through this.”

Sherlock kissed John’s head, “It’s alright. Any minute now. We will be saved.”

“Promise?” John whispered.

“When have I have ever let you down?” Sherlock replied with a soft grin.

“So many...” John paused. John thought for a moment, Sherlock had let him down many times, but by the end of the case, Sherlock always came through. John sighed, “Never.”

Sherlock could hear Lestrade barking orders up top. “Get your asses down there and save them, right bloody now! You,” Sherlock could imagine him pointing a finger at people, “Get the ambulance prepped, have them both checked over, especially John Watson. Get it done, team”

The emergency team were lowered down. “Took you bloody long enough” Sherlock murmured when the emergency team finally reached his eye level.

“Sorry, sir. We are working as fast as we can.” He said.

“Is Mr Watson okay?” He asked.

“For now yes. Slight hypothermia, slight panic attack.” Sherlock said.

“Okay, we will get you and Mr Watson up to safety.”

The emergency team worked to get John harnessed. Once he was ready, he turned to Sherlock. “Your turn.” One of the men said.

“No.” He outright refused. “John first. Get him to safety.”

“Sir. It’s easier if we get you both to safety at once so we don't have to do two trips.” The man explained.

“John first.” Sherlock insisted. “Take care of him. Get him warm.”

“If you insist sir.”

“I do. Go!” Sherlock ordered them.

“Pull us up.” Commanded the emergency team officer.

Sherlock watched with a sigh as John was finally being lifted to safety. Sherlock leant against the wall of the well.

Once Sherlock was rescued, he refused to be checked over by the medical team, rushing to John’s side instead. John was conscious, thank goodness, stripped from his wet clothes, into some warmer items, and about 2-3 blankets wrapped around him. “Oh John.” Sherlock said softly.

John smiled at him warmly. “Thank you, Sherlock.”

“No thank you John.”

“What for? Your the one that saved me.” John chuckled.

Sherlock surprised John, by lurching forward and wrapped arms around him, holding him so close to him.

“It doesn't matter who saved who, it just matters to me that your okay.” Sherlock whispered into John’s hair.

Lestrade came over to them with Mycroft in tow. He chuckled slightly when he saw them. “You two alright? Quite an eventful day you three have had.”

“Quite right.” Sherlock replied on behalf of his brother and best friend. He nudged John who had began to fall asleep, “What do you say, John? Ready to go home?”

“More than ever.” He mumbled sleepily, nuzzling further into Sherlock’s shoulder. 

“You heard the man, Lestrade. Get us home.”

Lestrade made them plans to get home. It would be a couple hours. Sherlock prepped himself with John beside him as the helicopter took off. “John, before you fall asleep. Promise me something?” Sherlock said.

“What?” John mumbled against his shoulder.

“Never do that to me again...” Sherlock said quietly.

“Do what?”

“Never let me almost lose you like that again...” Sherlock pleaded.

John chuckled, “Your stuck with me now, Sherlock Holmes.”

“That’s what I've always wanted.” Sherlock replied, but John hadn't heard him as he was already asleep on Sherlock’s shoulder.


End file.
